ERECHTHEUS (legendary king of Athens)
Figure of myth · legendary king of Athens
- Parents
- Pandion I, Zeuxippe
- Consorts
- Procris, Praxithea
- Children
- Creusa, Orithyia, Thespius, Procris, Sicyon, Eupalamus, Metion, Orneus, Chthonia, Merope, Alcon, Pandorus and 5 more
- In the sources
- 57 ancient passages
Erechtheus, son of Pandion and Zeuxippe, was the ancient king of Athens and the great ancestor of the people who held the strong city. [f: 3, 73]1,2 Born of the soil itself, he was fostered by Athena after his birth and established within her own rich sanctuary at Athens. [f: 45, 68]2 Known as the Earthborn, he was described as great, and his abode and ancient house were located in Athens. [f: 11, 71, 72]3,4,2,5 He succeeded to the rule of the Athenians, and during his reign, the people changed their name to Athenians. [f: 37, 46]6
Erechtheus married Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimus, and was the father of sons named Metion, Eupalamus, and Thespius.7,8,9 He was also the father of daughters named Creusa and Orithyia, as well as Merope, the mother of Daedalus.10,11,12 Hesiod claimed Erechtheus was the father of Sicyon, while some accounts state that Metion, his son, was the father of Sicyon. [f: 7, 18]13,14 He was the ancestor of the clan known as the Erechthids, whose warriors were descendants of his lineage, and is an ancestor of Theseus through the paternal line. [f: 5, 6]8,15,16,17 Theseus surpassed all the other sons of Erechtheus in ability. [f: 47]18
The god instructed him to sacrifice one of his daughters for victory, and he killed his youngest daughter to fulfill the oracle’s demand. [f: 33, 34]19 He also killed Eumolpus in that battle, securing a victory for the Athenians. [f: 9, 31]19,20,21
Poseidon, who struck him with a trident during the conflict, destroyed Erechtheus and his entire household. [f: 4, 43]22,23 After his death, Xuthus was appointed as judge for his succession, though Erechtheus’s other sons banished Xuthus from the land, despite one of Erechtheus’s daughters having married him in Athens. [f: 50, 51, 52]24 Erechtheus gave his name to a tribe in Athens following a Delphic oracle. [f: 35]25
The olive tree in his shrine, which Poseidon and Athena had placed as contest tokens, was burned by the barbarians. [f: 40, 44]5 A new shoot grew from the burnt olive tree stump the day after the fire. [f: 41]5 The sons of Erechtheus lived in a holy land that was never pillaged by enemies, dwelling in a climate that is always bright and clear. [f: 59, 60]26 Though his physical form was gone, the house of the earth-born race lifted its eyes to the radiant sun, and the halls of Erechtheus remained the home of Creusa. [f: 56, 57]27,28
The codex facts behind this entry
Erechtheus was an ancient king of Athens and is described as the great ancestor of the people who held the strong city. Herodotus 7.189.1 +2 Erechtheus is the ancestor of the clan known as the Erechthids, whose warriors were descendants of his lineage. Diodorus 4.76 +1 Erechtheus was the father of Creusa. Euripides, Ion 1201-1228 +1
In the myths
Erechtheus killed the Eleusinian general Immaradus, the son of Eumolpus. Pausanias 1.27.4 +1 Erechtheus killed Eumolpus in the battle following the sacrifice. Apollodorus 3.15.4 +1
Fate
Erechtheus was killed by Poseidon, who struck him with a trident during the conflict between the Eleusinians and the Athenians. Apollodorus 3.15.5 +2
